3.1 About Working with Oracle Team Productivity Center Administration

Oracle Team Productivity Center requires a certain amount of administration, both during initial setup and also on an ongoing basis. Oracle Team Productivity Center administration comprises the management of four areas: repositories, users, teams, and roles.

Repositories store the information used by your team to track, manage, and follow up on issues, features, and other elements of the product throughout its lifecycle. Once you add repositories to Oracle Team Productivity Center, you need to make them available to your team members. Your team members can access and interact with the information in these repositories depending on two sets of circumstances: the nature of the repository and its information (for example, a bug tracking database or a task repository); and the privileges you have assigned to each individual user, or to the team to which that user belongs.

When you add a new user, you assign them permissions allowing them to modify different content elements in Team Productivity Center, and you assign them to one or more teams. When you assign users to a team, they acquire a role, which is a mechanism for grouping together the abilities to modify different aspects of Team Productivity Center content. You can also modify individuals' roles, either on a person-by-person basis or by creating new roles with specific permissions that serve the needs of your organization.

3.1.1 Understanding Repositories, Users, and Teams

Managing the repositories used by your organization ensures that your users and teams have access to the records of features, bugs, progress, and other tracking mechanisms you use during the product lifecycle. These repositories store the work items that track individual issues during development.

To make a repository available to Oracle Team Productivity Center, you must first have access to the repository in your network, and then you must install the Oracle Team Productivity Center connector that links you to that repository.

While these tasks are roughly sequential (that is, you need to add repositories and make them available before you can assign users and teams to those repositories), you will most likely go back and perform these tasks at different times as the product matures and the team membership changes.

3.1.2 Understanding User Permissions

In Team Productivity Center, permissions define what controls a user has over the creation of new users and new teams. Each user can have different permissions that apply, no matter what teams they belong to. These permissions are as follows:

Create New Teams: Users with this privilege can create new teams. Unless they also add themselves as members of the new team, they will not be able to edit that team after they close the administration dialog.

Create User Accounts: This user can create new user accounts. These new user accounts cannot be edited once the administration dialog is dismissed. Only Administrators can further edit users.

Administrator: All functions of Team Productivity Center are open to users with Administrator permissions. Only Administrators may edit users, add/edit repositories, and modify team members' roles.

3.1.3 Understanding User Roles

Roles are the mechanism Team Productivity Center uses to give users permission to modify the elements of Team Productivity Center, such as work items, queries, tags, and document. All users have defined roles, either by default or by the administrator, and each user's role defines what capabilities and privileges that user has. By default, Team Productivity Center roles include the following three roles:

Team Members can access and edit work items, and can also create and manage queries, tags, and documents for their own use.

Team Administrators have those privileges, but in addition they can create and manage queries, tags, documents and sources for use by all members of their team.

Group Administrators have all those privileges, but can also create and manage queries, tags, documents and sources for their teams, plus any child teams that are contained within their own team.

The administrator can either accept these default roles and privileges, or adjust them by changing the selected privileges for each role. The administrator can also create new roles with different combinations of privileges, selecting from an available list on the Roles tab of the Team Administration dialog.

3.2 Adding Repositories to Oracle Team Productivity Center

Adding repositories to Team Productivity Center is an important administrative task, though typically you only add each repository once. Adding a repository makes it possible for team members to access work items, which are in turn artifacts of specific repositories. The team administrator adds the repository to the team's implementation of Team Productivity Center; the individual team members access those repositories while checking, tracking, and modifying work items as part of the product development lifecycle.

One crucial prerequisite for adding a repository: you (or any Team Productivity Center administrator) must have installed the connector for that repository on your Team Productivity Center server. You install connectors using the Team Productivity Center installation tool, available by download from Oracle Technology Network. Note that this is different from the connector extensions that all Team Productivity Center users download from Help > Check for Updates. You (or any administrator) can only add a repository to Team Productivity Center if that repository has a connector installed as a JDeveloper extension, through the Team Productivity Center installation tool.

3.2.1 How to Add a Repository

Before adding a repository, make sure you have all necessary connection information, such as the server name or URL, port number, authentication credentials such as user name and password, or any other data necessary to make a connection to the repository you are adding.

To add a repository to Team Productivity Center:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration > Repositories tab.

In the Repository Servers area, click the green + icon.

From the Connectors drop-down, select the appropriate connector for the repository you are adding. The available connectors depend on which connectors you have installed.

Enter a name and description. This is the name that will appear in the list of repositories available to a particular team.

Enter a local alias name for the repository and a description in the Repository Servers fields.

Enter the repository parameters, which are a set of name/value pairs. These will depend on the data required by the connector to access the repository. For some connectors, such as Atlassian JIRA ®, the Name field should be Server URL while the value field is the URL of the JIRA server that serves this repository. For other connectors, you may be required to enter additional names. Check with the connector author or with the connector's online Help for more details about the specific data you are required to enter when adding this repository. In any case, the parameter name is provided when the connector is installed, so as administrator, you only have to enter the value for the name parameter.

3.2.2 How to Remove a Repository

Before you remove a repository, write down the various URLs and parameters associated with it, in case you need to add it back to the system at some later point.

Note that you cannot remove a repository that is being used by a team. This prevents you from removing any team's associations with a repository.

To remove a repository:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration > Repositories

Click the repository you wish to delete.

Click the red X button.

The repository and any associations to it from teams will be removed.

3.3 Making Repositories Available in Oracle Team Productivity Center

Once you have added a repository, you need to make it available to users and teams of Oracle Team Productivity Center. This makes it possible for teams and users to access work items in the repositories you have added. In addition, you can create versioning repositories, giving your team members a quick way of accessing your selected source control system through the Repositories tab of Oracle Team Productivity Center.

3.3.1 How to Access and Select Repositories in Team Productivity Center

Oracle Team Productivity Center links JDeveloper users to external repositories. These repositories can include defect-tracking databases, customer-request tools, and other collections of data such as versioning systems.

The Team Administration dialog lets you add, remove, and modify repositories, based on the installed connectors. You may find it useful to add a different server that points to the same repository, a common situation if your teams is distributed throughout the world. Adding a local server for different branches of your organization can improve performance and efficiency for your organization.

Once the Team Administrator has set up repositories, users with administrative privilege can select the repositories used by the team.

To select repositories for team use:

Team Navigator > Team Administration > Teams > Team Repositories

In addition, Team Productivity Center users will need to make sure they have downloaded the connectors for the repositories your team uses. You can download these from Help > Check for Updates.

The Team Administrator can add repositories, based on the installed connectors. You may find it useful to add a different server that points to the same repository, a common situation if your team is distributed throughout the world. Adding a local server for different branches of your organization can improve performance and efficiency for your organization.

Most administrative tasks involving repositories begin from the Team Administration dialog. You access this dialog by selecting Team Navigator > Team Administration > Repositories. The Team Administration dialog lets you add, remove, and modify repositories.

3.3.2 How to Find Repositories in the Team Administration Dialog

If you have a large number of repositories, the quick filter feature of the Team Administration menu can let you narrow down the repositories on display, helping you identify the correct repository quickly and easily.

To find a repository with the quick filter feature:

Click on the Repositories tab of the Team Administration dialog.

Type the first few characters of the repository's name into the Filter field at the top of the Repositories column.

JDeveloper lists all repositories whose names include the characters you type.

The filter searches progressively as you type each character. The filter is not case-sensitive; you can type in lower-case and JDeveloper will display repository names regardless of capitalization.

3.3.3 How to Assign Repositories

You assign repositories by selecting them from the list of available repositories, which in turn is based on the installed connectors. The team administrator adds the repository to the team's implementation of Team Productivity Center; individual team members access those repositories while checking, tracking, and modifying work items as part of the product development lifecycle.

To determine which repositories this team will be able to access:

Team Navigator > Team Administration > Teams > Team Repositories tab

This displays a list of all available repositories in your installation of Team Productivity Center. Some repositories might require you to enter a parameter (such as a URL or a port number).

To make a repository accessible or inaccessible to your team:

Check the box beside each repository to make your new team able to access that repository.

Remove the check to make the repository inaccessible to your team.

To set or clear all boxes, click the topmost box (beside the Name field).

3.3.4 How to Create and Use Versioning Repositories

Creating a versioning repository gives your team a quick way of navigating to your versioning system, through the Repository tab.

To create a versioning repository:

Select Team Administration > Repositories.

Click on the green + sign to create a new repository.

Note:

To make sure you do not have an existing repository for the specific version control system, click on the + sign beside the Repositories node. This will display the list of available version control repositories currently available in Oracle Team Productivity Center. If you need to create a new repository for the same version control system, you can give it a new name.

Click on the Connector drop-down to select the connector for the desired version control system.

In the Name field, type a name for the repository you are creating. If this is a new repository for a version control system that already has a repository (for example, for a different branch or version of your project), be sure the name is easily identifiable.

In the Description field, describe the versioning repository you are creating.

Click OK.

Once you have created the versioning repository, you can control which teams have access to it from the Teams tab of the Team Administration dialog.

To give team access to a versioning repository:

Select Team Administration > Repositories> Team Repositories tab.

Scroll through the list of teams in the left-hand pane of the dialog to find the team to which you wish to give access to your new repository.

Scroll through the list of repositories in the right-hand pane of the dialog to find the repositories you wish to make available to the selected team.

Check the box beside each repository you wish to be accessible to the selected team.

Click OK.

Note that you need to select each team individually, but you can specify all appropriate repositories for that team in a single operation, by selecting all desired repositories and then clicking OK.

3.4 Working with Users, Teams and Roles

A key part of the administrator's job concerns managing the team members: maintaining user accounts, keeping users on the right teams, and ensuring they all have the capabilities required to do their jobs. This is especially important in a dynamic environment where new members are joining the product development group as the product matures. Team Productivity Center's administration gives a number of ways of adding and removing users, modifying user information, and managing teams.

Oracle Team Productivity Center uses roles to define the capabilities of each individual team member. As the administrator, you can define roles which have a unique combination of capabilities; you then assign different roles to individual members based on their needs in the organization. Each role has its own combination of privileges, which permit team members to create and modify different elements (queries, tags, documents, and more) within Oracle Team Productivity Center.

3.4.1 How to Create Team Productivity Center User Accounts

As an Oracle Team Productivity Center administrator, one of your ongoing tasks will be to create accounts for team members. This involves adding individuals as they join your team, but also making sure that they have the correct access to various features and functions of Team Productivity Center.

An Oracle Team Productivity Center administrator's tasks include the following, which may be performed in any order as team members and repositories are added, either at the beginning of the product lifecycle or during development:

Adding users. This can be either when you are first setting up your team, or when others join your team later.

Modifying information for an existing user. This can include contact information, permissions, and other information.

Changing team member roles. Team members are assigned roles within the team. These roles play an important part in what permissions the team members have when it comes to modifying queries and other team-wide interactions.

Managing repositories. Because the user accounts include granting permission for individual team members to access the various repositories your team uses, you may also be called upon to manage some repository information, such as making sure that your team members have any accounts and permissions that an individual repository requires.

3.4.2 How to Add Users to Team Productivity Center

In a typical production environment, your team will grow and develop as the product matures. As an Oracle Team Productivity Center administrator, you can add new users through the Team Productivity Center Administration Dialog.

To add a user to Team Productivity Center through the Team Productivity Center Administration Dialog:

Open the Team Server Administration by clicking on its icon in the Team Navigator menu.

Click the Users tab.

Click the green + sign and to open the new user dialog.

Complete the user registration information include assigning a password and setting status to Active or Inactive.

Set the following user permission options:

Create new team? Select this option if you want the user to be able to create new teams.

Create new users? Select this option if you want the user to be able to add additional users to the system.

Is an administrator? Select this option if the user is to be an Oracle Team Productivity Center administrator. Users who are administrators automatically receive the ability to create users and teams.

Click OK.

You will notice that your user is now represented in the Users roster. This also means that your new user can be assigned to teams.

You can add and remove team members to and from existing teams through the Team Productivity Center Administration dialog.

To add a team member to an existing team:

Open the Team Server Administration by clicking on its icon in the Team Navigator menu.

Click the Teams tab.

Click on the team name whose membership you wish to adjust.

Click the green + associated with the Team Members panel.

Select one or several members from available users.

Use Ctrl-Shift to select multiple users; use Shift to select a range of users. To select all users, use the double right-angle symbol.

When you have added a user to the team, click on the new member's role and select the appropriate role. This step is crucial in determining what administrative rights this user is to have on the team.

Click OK.

To remove a team member from an existing team:

Open the Team Server Administration by clicking on its icon in the Team Navigator menu.

3.4.3 How to Modify User Information

If you have administrative privileges you can modify information related to any user in the system.

To modify user information:

Open Team Server Administration by clicking on its icon in the Oracle Team Productivity Center masthead.

Click on the Users tab.

Click the name in the Users roster.

Modify the information as required.

Click OK.

Tip:

Once a user is assigned to one or more teams, his or her teams will be listed below the user configuration information in read-only form. You can modify team assignments through the Teams administrative tab.

3.4.4 How to Remove Users from Team Productivity Center

Users can only be removed from Oracle Team Productivity Center during the initial session in which they are added. Once a user has been added to the database, it is no longer possible to remove that user. This is because there is user information in Oracle Team Productivity Center that cannot be removed (such as team membership, tags, and queries) associated with the user's account.

If you have a user who no longer participates in Team Productivity Center, the solution is to change that user's status from Active to Inactive.

To change a user's status to Inactive:

Select Team Navigator > Team Navigator menu > Team Administration.

Click on the Users tab.

Click on the name of the user in the user roster.

Click on the Status drop-down list and select Inactive.

Click OK.

You must have Administrator privilege to perform this procedure.

You can use the same procedure to change a user's status back to Active. Once you have selected the user's name from the Team Administration menu, select Active from the Status drop-down list and then click OK.

You can also change the setting to view active or inactive users by selecting the Show Inactive Users check box.

To show inactive users:

Click the check box labeled Show Inactive Users.

3.4.5 How to Find Users or Teams in the Team Administration Dialog

If you have a large team with many members, you can use the quick filter feature of the Team Administration menu to narrow down your search to simplify finding an individual member.

To find a user with the quick filter feature:

Click on the Users tab of the Team Administration dialog.

Type the first few characters of the user's name into the Filter field at the top of the Users column.

JDeveloper displays all users whose names include the characters you type.

The filter searches progressively as you type each character. The filter is not case-sensitive; you can type in lower-case and JDeveloper will display user names regardless of capitalization. The quick filter also works to search through the entire list of teams.

To find a team with the quick filter feature:

Click on the Teams tab of the Team Administration dialog.

Type the first few characters of the team's name into the Filter field at the top of the Teams column.

JDeveloper displays all teams whose names begin with the characters you type.

As with the Users filter, the Teams filter is progressive. For example, typing the characters T, E and S will display a list of all teams with the word "Test" in their names.

The filter is not case-sensitive; continuing with the "Test" example, JDeveloper will return teams with the words TEST, Test and test in their names.

3.4.6 How to Add and Remove Teams from Oracle Team Productivity Center

In Team Productivity Center, users can be grouped into any arbitrary arrangement of teams and sub-teams; members of each team can be assigned to one of the predefined roles, or you can create new roles if your work environment requires it.

Teams can only be removed from Oracle Team Productivity Center during the initial session in which they are added. Once the team has been added to the database, it is no longer possible to remove them.

If you have administrative privileges, you can add teams through the Team Productivity Center Administration Dialog. An Oracle Team Productivity Center administrator can adjust team hierarchies. Team Administrators will be restricted to teams on which they have been assigned the team administrative role that includes any team they have created. The Group Administrator can modify the team to which the administrator belongs, and any child team of the Group Administrator's team.

Tip:

While a team roster can be duplicated under another team name, a team cannot have more than one parent team.

To add a team to Oracle Team Productivity Center:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration.

Click the Teams tab. A list of teams and subteams, if any, appears.

Click on a team name. If you choose the top entry in the hierarchy, your team will be a top-level team. Otherwise, click on the name of any existing team to create the new team as its child. (After a team has been created, you can easily adjust its location in the team hierarchy.)

Click the green + symbol. A team named "untitled" appears.

Provide the following information:

Team name. (Use a name consistent with the naming style of other teams in the system.)

Parent. If the team you are creating is a sub-team of an existing team, select a parent. Otherwise select the blank option to create a team that is a peer of the primary teams in the system.

Status (active or inactive).

Optional description.

Click OK to create the team.

Once you add members to the team, their names will appear in the Team Members panel. Be sure to select roles for each team member as you add them to the team.

Teams in Oracle Team Productivity Center cannot be removed, because there is data (such as team members, tags, and queries) associated with their account. If you have a team which no longer participates in Oracle Team Productivity Center, the solution is to change that team's status from Active to Inactive.

To make a team inactive:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration.

Click on the Status drop-down list and select Inactive.

Click OK.

To show inactive teams:

Click on the box labeled Show Inactive Teams.

3.4.7 How to Set and Change Team Member Roles

Roles are the mechanisms that Oracle Team Productivity Center uses to manage users' privileges to create and modify various elements (work items, queries, tags, and documents) within the team working environment. While Oracle Team Productivity Center has default roles, the administrator can also create and define new roles, choosing from the privileges listed in Table 3-1.

The three roles with which Oracle Team Productivity Center is delivered are:

Team Member (the default for all users). Team Members can access and edit work items, and can also create and manage queries, tags, and documents for their own use.

Team Administrator. Team Administrators have all Team Member privileges, but in addition they can create and manage queries, tags, documents and sources for use by all members of their team.

Group Administrator. Group Administrators have all the privileges of Team Members and Team Administrators, but can also create and manage queries, tags, documents and sources for their teams, plus any child teams that are contained within their own team.

In addition to these roles with which Oracle Team Productivity Center, administrators can create new roles which contain a combination of the available privileges. This gives you great flexibility to create specific roles that match the desired capabilities, privileges and responsibilities of team members.

Perform all administrative duties on their own team. Available by default to the Team Administrator and Group Administrator roles.

Manage Team Queries

Create, manage and delete queries into data repositories for use by all members of their own team. Available by default to the Team Administrator and Group Administrator roles.

Manage Team Tags

Create, manage and delete tags for use by members of their own team. Available by default to the Team Administrator and Group Administrator roles.

Manage Team Documents

Create, manage and delete documents for use by members of their own team. Available by default to the Team Administrator and Group Administrator roles.

Manage Team Sources

Create, manage and delete sources for use by members of their own team. Available by default to the Team Administrator and Group Administrator roles.

Gain Privilege Over Child Teams

Users assigned a role with this privilege will have this same role on every team in the hierarchy below the current one, whether or not they are explicitly a member of those teams. This privilege is intended to allow certain users to administer all teams within a hierarchy without being a member of every single team.

The Team Productivity Center administrator can change the allocation of privileges between these three roles, and can also create a new role with a different mix of privileges if required.

To create a new role:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration.

Click on the Roles tab, and then click on the green plus sign. This creates a new role.

Type a name and a description for the new role you are creating.

Select the combination of privileges that you wish to associate with the new role, and then click OK.

In addition to creating a new role (which you can subsequently assign to users as they join your team), you can also change the role of any member of your team, selecting from any of the default roles or any new roles you have created.

To change the role of a team member:

Select Team Navigator menu > Team Administration.

Click on the Teams tab. A list of teams in the system appears.

Click on the name of the team that contains the user or users whose roles you wish to change.

Click on the user's name.

Click on the user's current role and select a new role from the dropdown list, and then click OK.

You can change the role of a team member at any time. After the change, the member will have the capabilities of the new role you have assigned them.

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